Dolly and Sauna from Underware

Posted April 22, 2015

Underware joined Webtype last November with three families. Now we offer another shipment of fonts from the European prodigies. These modern classics helped Underware make their mark, and they are still as relevant and useful as the day they were first released.

Dolly is one of those uncommon book serifs that is not based on old type, but is instead a completely modern invention. Her low-contrast strokes — gently modulating, perhaps even brushy — follow a Dutch calligraphic tradition, but Dolly has a contemporary personality of her own. Designed specifically for books and optimized for the screen, Dolly is a text face ideal for longform content: essays, articles, any writing that needs a subtle air of authority — dependable but not stuffy.

Like any classic book family, the palette is a simple trio of Roman, Italic, and Bold, all designed to be used harmoniously within the same line for applying emphasis or distinguishing content. With support for over 200 Latin-based languages, Dolly is also fit to tell stories in any part of the Western world, from the Americas to Central/Eastern Europe.

While some sans serifs strive for neutrality or austerity, Sauna is warm and unrestrained. Where some are stiff and harsh, Sauna is relaxed and welcoming. In that way its name is quite fitting. Its soft contours and its playful strokes that curve off the stems expose Sauna’s obvious nature: this is type for taking it easy.

Yet unlike many informal typefaces, Sauna need not be relegated to big headlines or the occasional bit of copy; this is a legitimate text face too. The shapes are clear, counters are open, and the three weights, each with italics, offer a toolkit for all types of tasks. Plus, Sauna has the same extensive language support as Dolly. Small caps and swash fonts for both Sauna and Dolly are available upon request.

In the same way that Sauna bucks the sober sans trend, Sauna Mono is a monospaced typeface with an unusually easygoing personality. Four styles — Regular, Italic, Bold, and Bold Italic — are at the ready for content that needs to be tabular but not tiresome. This face would also be an unexpected stylistic choice even when there is no such monospaced requirement.

These Underware families offer plenty of pairing opportunities. With their similarly relaxed personalities Dolly and Sauna naturally play well together, but they can also serve as casual counterparts for typefaces that are more straight-laced. Consider contrasting Dolly with Interstate, Helsinki, or Nitti Grotesk; Sauna with Proforma, Heron Serif, or Brando. From a harmonic approach, either Freight Micro or Shift have a wide stance and low stroke contrast which could be a compatible with Sauna.

As with every font on Webtype, the Dolly, Sauna, and Sauna Mono families can be tested free of charge for 30 days.